
Introduction
Jesus Our Mediator
The desperateness of our situation called for a mediator. Our planet
was isolated in rebellion. Its inhabitants had been infected with sin. The
survival of the human race was in doubt. Communication had been
limited, and a great gulf separated human beings from God. An impen-
etrable gloom enshrouded the globe. To all appearances the rebels were
without hope, without remedy.
To bridge the gulf a mediator was needed who could provide a way
back to God—someone in between, someone who could bring the es-
tranged parties together. In the desperate situation God took the initia-
tive. Christ was provided as Mediator. He alone had the proper creden-
tials and credibility to be able to guarantee results, to speak to both sides
and to draw fallen human beings back into fellowship with God. In order
to do so He had to be willing to pay the price, no matter how high it would
be. Being interested in us in a most personal way, He was determined not
to fail or become discouraged in His intervention on our behalf.
The Mediator has acted and continues to act in our behalf. Most of His
primary mission has been accomplished. Planet Earth rightfully is His.
The broken relationship has been restored. The communication gulf has
been bridged, the gloom has been lifted, and salvation has been provided
for those willing to accept it.
Two more acts in the drama remain—the completion of the investiga-
tive judgment and the complete banishment of the instigator, the archen-
emy, the chief rebel and his followers in the fmal executive judgment.
Annihilation of the root cause will lead to the restoration of the planet to
what God originally intended it to be.
For the next thirteen weeks, we will embark on a study journey
through this grand truth, Jesus our Mediator, and will trace His activity
and ministry. We will come to know Him better in the many phases of His
noble efforts to rescue humanity. We will understand more clearly the
way God works and come to experience at deeper levels the impact of
what He has done and what He is doing—of the great salvation He has
provided. Doing so should enable us to articulate more effectively the
essential meaning of the grand old story. No wonder this teaching has
been called the central doctrine of the Christian faith. It is a key to the
unity of the Bible. In the Mediator, Jesus Christ, God has placed before
His throne our Substitute and Surety.
Christianity is a religion of mediation. Ever since the inception of sin,
Jesus has been and continues to be our Mediator with the Father. His
mediation is our only hope of redemption and restoration.
"God is approached through Jesus Christ, the Mediator, the only way
through which He forgives sins. . . . This is the sinner's only hope, and if
he rests here in sincere faith, he is sure of pardon and that full and free.
There is only one channel and that is accessible to all, and through that
channel a rich and abundant forgiveness awaits the penitent, contrite soul
and the darkest sins are forgiven."—Ellen G. White Comments,
S.D.A.
Bible Commentary, vol.
7, pp. 912, 913.
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